


Compatibility

by TheDragonsLittleBird



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV), Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pacific Rim Fusion, Jaeger Pilots, Jaegers (Pacific Rim), Kaiju, Multi, Pacific Rim AU, The Drift (Pacific Rim)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-07-30
Packaged: 2018-03-13 14:19:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3384884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDragonsLittleBird/pseuds/TheDragonsLittleBird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After her brother died, Arya never thought she would be piloting a Jaeger again - after all, there was no one she was Drift Compatible with. Well, no one but one person... Game of Thrones/Pacific Rim AU. Spoilers for Pacific Rim. M for violence, blood and gore (though this last one is only for Kaijus) and some swearing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fight The Hurricane

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Okay, so, I pretty much think that almost everything that's already awesome can be made twice as awesome when put in a Pacific Rim AU, so in my mind that's pretty much the same for Game of Thrones. I kind of went with the characters' personalities in the Pacific Rim movie to try to see who from the Game of Thrones universe would best fit into their role. I ended up with Arya as Raleigh and Jon as Yancy, Jeor Mormont as Marshal Pentecost and Gendry as Tendo Choi. I'm not going to reveal right now who the other pilots will be, though, neither the scientists (Newt and Hermann) or Arya's copilot, so that's going to remain in the dark at least until the next chapter.
> 
> WARNINGS: May containt slight reference to some pairings (both het and slash/femslash) in future chapters (don't worry though, it can be easily overlooked since the fanfiction mostly follows Pacific Rim's basic plot with some changes to fit the characters better, so it's pretty much more action than anything) and also containts a ton of blood and gore (at least from Kaijus) and some major GoT character deaths (and I mean MAJOR.) If you don't like it, don't read it. Also, some swearing. Oh, and SPOILERS FOR PACIFIC RIM.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: NEITHER GAME OF THRONES NOR PACIFIC RIM ARE MINE; I'M JUST BORROWING THEM BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN TO PUT GAME OF THRONES CHARACTERS IN THE PACIFIC RIM UNIVERSE.
> 
> That having been said, I do hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
> 
> PS: Will also be posting this in other fanfic websites in addition to here.

-Come on, get up Jon, we're on alert!

 

Arya impatiently shook her brother awake as she put on her jacket. The alarm was sounding, which meant the sensors had picked up a Kaiju reading near the coastline. Jon groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles.

 

-What time is it? – He asked, half-awake, to which Arya replied:

 

-Two.

 

-In the morning?

 

-Yep.

 

He sighed.

 

-So, what, they found a Kaiju? – He said, yawning and getting up, stretching his limbs.

 

-Yep, and it's near here – Arya replied, throwing his own jacket at him. – Category 3, codename "Knifehead" – She approached him with her fist up. – So, let's go kill our fifth Kaiju?

 

-You bet – Jon said, touching her fist with his, more awake now. – I won't stop until all these things are dead.

 

-Let's go, then – Arya rushed out of the room, adjusting her jacket; Jon immediately followed. They walked to the stageroom, where Marshal Jeor Mormont and Gendry Waters, Jaeger engineer and a good friend of Arya's, were standing, looking at the computer screen fairly alarmed.

 

-So, what you got for us, Marshal? – Arya said, approaching Mormont and Gendry and joining them to look at the screen; Jon did the same.

 

-Category 3 – Gendry replied. – Apparently the biggest one yet. Seems to be targeting London.

 

-Heh, we got this – Arya grinned. – We'll have another one for the record once we're done with it.

 

-Negative – Mormont said. – I just want you to be on the lookout and protect the coastline, nothing more. Only engage it if necessary.

 

-Okay, okay, geez – Arya replied, disappointed. As she saw the look on the Marshal's face, she added, more seriously: - Yes, sir.

 

-Then hurry out – He said. – Grey Wind is ready for you.

 

Arya and Jon rushed out of the stageroom and into the Drivesuit Room, where they got equipped with their drivesuits. They then walked into Grey Wind's conn-pod, and locked their feet on the control locks under them, Jon on the right side of the conn-pod and Arya on the left. As the crew connected the command cables into the Neural taps at the base of the Rangers' backs, they all cleared away from the Jaeger and Grey Wind's AI's male, synthesized voice echoed inside their helmets:

 

_"Initiating Grey Wind. Conn-pod ready for drop sequence."_

 

Next it was the Marshal's voice that sounded next to their ears:

 

_-"Shatterdome to Grey Wind, do you copy?"_

 

Jon spoke up:

 

-Grey Wind to Shatterdome, we can hear you loud and clear, sir.

 

 _-"Okay, then we're going to drop you"_ – Mormont replied. – _"Remember, do not engage it unless absolutely necessary, do you understand?"_

 

Arya couldn't help but feel that last part was directed solely at her.

 

-Yes sir – She replied, somewhat against her will; she wanted to fight that Kaiju. She wanted to fight every Kaiju that came their way. And she wanted to kill them, just like they had killed her family – her father and her older brother Robb when they had been fighting a category 3 Kaiju that destroyed their Jaeger, Dire Wolf, and killed them both in the process; and her mother and two younger brothers, Bran and Rickon, when a Category 2 Kaiju, White Walker, attacked England. Only her older sister Sansa survived that attack - no one knew how. Arya and Jon were alive because both had already enrolled the Jaeger Program and were undergoing training at the time of the White Walker attack. At first, Arya and Jon enlisted because they wanted to be like their dad and to protect the world against the Kaiju threat; but after the monsters killed off almost their entire family, in addition to protecting people, it became darkly personal – they wanted to kill as many of the creatures as they could land their hands on.

 

The AI voice echoed inside their heads again:

 

_"Initiating drop sequence."_

 

Arya and Jon held on as Grey Wind's head plummeted down, falling at an incredibly high speed before hitting the Jaeger's neck and attaching to it. Grey Wind was then lifted onto the platform and carried outside the Shatterdome before being dropped into the sea, the water reaching its metallic shins.

 

 _-"Shatterdome to Grey Wind, you ready?"_ – Came Gendry's voice through the earpiece inside Arya and Jon's helmets.

 

-We're ready – Arya replied, already knowing he was talking about throwing them into the Drift.

 

 _-"Okay then."_ – Gendry confirmed. _– "Initiating Neural Handshake in three… two… one…"_

 

Arya closed her eyes as she drifted into her brother's mind, her own memories flashing before her eyes right before his started to do the same; she was already used to the procedure right now, but it still managed to slightly knock both her and Jon back.

 

Once it was over, she and Jon moved their arms as one and clasped Grey Wind's closed fists together, Arya controlling its left arm and Jon its right. The AI's voice sounded yet again:

 

_"Neural Bridge established. Both pilots engaged."_

 

 _-"Okay, Neural Handshake steady and holding"_ – This time it was Gendry who spoke.

 

-Grey Wind online – Jon spoke into the mic. – Anything else we should know?

 

 _-"No, nothing you already don't know yet"_ – Gendry replied. – _"Category 3, codename Knifehead. It's heading towards the coast and apparently wants to reach London."_

 

 _-"Do not engage it"-_ Marshal Mormont said once again, and Arya couldn't avoid rolling her eyes. – _"Just stay near the coast and make sure the Kaiju doesn't reach it."_

 

-Yes sir – Said Arya yet again before noticing Jon was eyeing Grey Wind's radar.

 

-Sir, there's a fishing vessel in the Kaiju's way – He said, worried. Arya looked at the radar herself and saw it: a tiny ship-shaped pattern, right in the path of a much bigger pattern that seemed to be moving towards it.

 

 _-"Leave it"_ – Came Mormont's voice through the earpiece. – _"There are much more people in the city than in that boat. You're gonna stay by the coastline and defend it. Are we clear?"_

 

Jon looked at Arya and she obviously knew what he was thinking, for she was inside his head, and he was inside hers: there was no way they were gonna let that boat's crew die. She nodded and he nodded back at her before turning back to the mic:

 

-Understood, sir. We won't engage it unless necessary. Grey Wind out.

 

Jon turned off the radio.

 

-You thinking what I'm thinking? – He asked, looking at Arya again; she in turn grinned at him.

 

-I'm in your head, remember? – She said, tapping the helmet's visor over her own forehead.

 

-Let's go get the son of a bitch – He replied, and he and Arya started moving their legs in perfect synchronization, propelling the Jaeger forward through the water, that was getting deeper and deeper with each step they took.

 

They were fully underwater by the time they reached the fishing vessel. The Kaiju was nearly reaching it when they emerged, carefully grabbing the boat with the enormous mech's hand and putting it away from danger. After moving the ship to safety, they turned around.

 

-Here it comes – Said Jon with a hint of playful expectation in his voice, eyeing the radar.

 

-That's what I'm hoping for – Arya replied, with a faint hint of a grin on her face.

 

It took less than a second after that before the Kaiju emerged from underwater, charging at Grey Wind with its blade-shaped head. Arya and Jon moved at the same time to make the Jaeger throw Knifehead's enormous head to the side with a powerful right hook. Grey Wind then proceeded to deliver a left uppercut to the monster's face.

 

Knifehead obviously did not take kindly to the aggression and bit Grey Wind's right arm; the Jaeger punched the creature's face twice with its free left arm, throwing the Kaiju off-balance.

 

-Arya, the plasmacaster! – Jon yelled, readying his arm at the same time Arya readied hers.

 

-I got it! – Arya yelled back. They took aim. – Now!

 

They fired one, two, three shots at the Kaiju's chest; blue blood sprouted out of the monster's wound, and Knifehead slowly fell back into the water, dead.

 

The radio came back online.

 

 _-"We picked up plasma cannon shots on the sensors!"_ – Gendry spoke through the earpiece. _– "What the hell is going on?!"_

 

 _-"Wind, I told you not to intercept it!"_ – This time it was the Marshal's angry voice.

 

-With all due respect, sir – Jon replied, grinning and panting. – We killed the Kaiju and saved the vessel. I think it's a win-win.

 

 _-"I don't give a damn what you think!"_ – Marshal Mormont sounded really pissed off this time. – _"You disobeyed a direct order and put the city in danger by stepping away from the coastline! Get the hell back to your post, **now**!"_

 

-Yes, sir – Jon replied, though he was still grinning arrogant and proudly.

 

He and Arya started to move Grey Wind back to its post before Gendry's alert voice echoed inside their helmets:

 

- _"Hold on, I'm still getting readings! That Kaiju is still alive, Wind!"_

 

Arya and Jon barely had time to turn Grey Wind around before Knifehead reemerged from the water and jumped on the Jaeger, making it stumble. Jon quickly tried to hold the Kaiju back with Grey Wind's right arm, trying to push it off the mech by the neck.

 

-Arya, load it up, now! – He yelled, baring his teeth from the effort of fighting the monster.

 

Arya immediately started prepping up the left plasmacaster and aimed at Knifehead, but the Kaiju grabbed Grey Wind's left arm and pushed it aside, pushing its own head forward and using it to rip through the Jaeger's left shoulder, tearing its left arm off. Arya cried out in pain as she felt the attack as if it had been delivered on her own body; the controller on her left hand went red and an alarm echoed inside the conn-pod.

 

-Damn it! – Arya spat out, grabbing her hurt left arm with her right one. Jon looked at her in panic, his eyes full of fear.

 

The Jaeger then violently shook, tossing them around as much as it was possible with them still engaged in the Jaeger controls. Jon looked up, frightful, and Arya did the same.

 

-It's ripping through Wind's head – Jon choked out, before the Jaeger shook again.

 

Jon turned to face Arya.

 

-Arya, listen to me! – Jon yelled to make himself heard over the noises of the Jaeger being viciously attacked and the alarm sounding inside the conn-pod. – You've got to-! – But whatever he was trying to say got cut off by the Kaiju's massive clawed hand tearing through the right side of Grey Wind's head and grabbing Jon, ripping him off of his controls, snapping the cables and ruining the machinery entirely.

 

-NO! – Arya screamed as she saw the monster lifted her brother out of the ruined conn-pod and away from her view; she kept screaming as she felt his pain and desperation, his hopelessness and ultimately, his life extinguishing inside her head.

 

She was still screaming as she took the control device from her left hand, Grey Wind's arm rendered completely useless by Knifehead's attack, and put it on her right hand, loading the plasmacaster as she bared her teeth in pain, anger and desperation – she wasn't even sure why she was still trying to bring the Kaiju down, even more so by fighting it solo, but she had to try. For her brother's sake.

 

She roared out in anger as she tried her last resort (her body hurt as if she had been stepped on by her own Jaeger; she could feel the damage the Kaiju was causing on Grey Wind in her own body, connected to the huge mech, feeling the wounds as if they were being caused on her and not the Jaeger) and waited for Knifehead to try to bite her charged plasmacaster – and when its mouth was open and perfectly aligned with her arm, she fired.

 

One single shot to the inside of its mouth, and the monster's head blew up like a melon shot by a shotgun, blue blood and Kaiju brains smearing the ruined Jaeger. Arya kept looking at the creature's body as it floated on the sea, bright blue liquid spreading on the water around it, and was slightly aware of the moisture under her nose – she must be bleeding from the neural overload; her head was throbbing as she put her hand under her nose and looked at it, her partially blurred vision confirming that she was bleeding, as seen by the blood on her gloves; she needed to make it back to shore, fast.

 

She wasn't sure of how much time passed since she started to drag Grey Wind back to the English coast – for her it seemed like hours, red tinting her vision as her eyes started to suffer the effects of the neural overload from piloting a Jaeger on her own – but when she finally gave in and Grey Wind fell on its knees then on its face, making the earth beneath it violently shake, her entire body hurt and she felt like she was hit on the head with a sledgehammer.

 

She dragged herself out of the remains of the conn-pod, vaguely aware of the old man rushing to her side, saying something that Arya couldn't figure out because her mind was still clinging to her brother; she knew he was gone, but she couldn't keep herself from muttering his name, even as she fell to her knees and then on her back, and as her consciousness faded…


	2. The Wall of Life

Arya took a sip of her coffee as she grumpily stared at the TV. Unlike her fellow builders, who were looking at the television with a baffled expression on their face, (as some of them muttered “It tore through the Wall like it would tear through paper!”) she didn’t really believe that stupid Wall was going to solve anything; she had just wanted to stay away from the damn Jaeger Program.  Shutting down the Jaegers and relying on a flimsy wall to defend the world was suicide – and a really stupid decision, as shown by the images on the news; a category 4 Kaiju had just ripped through the so-called “Wall of Life” like it was nothing.

                _-“…luckily, Danish Jaeger Black Dracarys, which was scheduled for deactivation tomorrow, intercepted the Kaiju and brought it down before it could cause any more damage to the city.”_

The images then changed from the Kaiju destroying the Wall (and then the city) to a black and red Jaeger kicking the living shit out of the monster.

                _-“Black Dracarys’ pilots, Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen,succeded in taking down their tenth Kaiju and consequently in defending the city”._

The images changed once again, this time showing a guy and a girl who looked a lot like each other, both with long bleached-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The guy was closer to and facing the camera, while the girl was further from it and talking to another reporter (while eying her brother disapprovingly.)

                - _“Well, of course the Jaeger program should keep going” –_ The boy said, arrogance both on his face and in his accented voice. – _“I mean, we’ve all seen this wall’s for shit, right? If it wasn’t for us the city would be gone – tenth Kaiju today, by the way. It’s a new record” –_ He smiled arrogantly. – _“The entire program shouldn’t be shut down because of incompetent pilots, not when we have able Rangers and good Jaegers at our disposal…”_

Arya shook her head in disgust. Of course she knew Daenerys and Viserys; they had worked together in missions before. And while Dany was nice, Viserys was absolutely insufferable. He always gave Arya the cold shoulder, not that she cared – they avoided talking to each other whenever possible and had never gotten along with each other. Dany was always reprehending Viserys for his behavior, but that didn’t work, because Arya never saw him not being an ass to anyone he talked to, so she already disliked him before he started calling her incompetent on national television – because she knew that jab was directed at her, since he had been doing that a lot lately, insulting her whenever he got an interview.

                Daenerys, on the other hand, could almost never be reached for comment, and when the reporters did ambush her (like in today’s case) she barely said anything, just commenting on how the remaining Jaeger pilots would still fight to protect the world from the Kaiju threat, regardless of what the government thought about them. Arya figured she just didn’t like being interviewed, and to be honest, she couldn’t blame her; she still remembered being bombarded with questions as soon as she had recovered from her injuries from her last mission, and she remembered quite well that the reporters pressed her to tell them what being inside a dying person’s head was like and just how painful to pilot a Jaeger solo was, exactly. She hated them, and she wanted them to shut the hell up and go away, but she of course couldn’t say that, so she endured it as much as she could, before she finally snapped and punched on the face a reporter who blatantly blamed her for Jon’s death. No interviews for her anymore after that, but of course, the newspaper headlines that came after the incident weren’t particularly pleasant either: _“Former Jaeger pilot shows herself unstable and attacks reporter”, “Jaeger solo-piloting may have caused psychological problems on ex-Ranger Arya Stark”, “Arya Stark goes violent when faced with her brother’s demise”,_ the list went on. She knew first hand now how Harry must have felt during _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix._

                Arya got up and threw her empty coffee cup in the nearby trashcan. She then grabbed her toolbox from the bench she had been sitting on and proceeded to walk towards the elevator to the top of the wall. That was fucking pointless, she thought as she walked, she just saw exactly what the Kaiju were going to do to that damn wall, why did she insist on staying at that shithole instead of looking for a job she actually enjoyed?

                She knew the answer, of course. The reason was, as much as she wanted to stay away from the Jaeger Program, she didn’t _really_ want to stay away from the Jaeger Program. The Wall would do just fine, as, even though she wasn’t in a Jaeger, she was still doing something related to Kaijus. She still loved Jaegers, and nothing made her feel alive like piloting one did – yet, she couldn’t bring herself to even think about piloting again. Every time she thought about the conn-pod, she saw Jon getting ripped out of it, of him dying inside her head, and she just couldn’t do it. So she was satisfied with staying at the Wall. It’s not like she wasn’t used to the cold – the other builders actually envied for that, that they were freezing with their tons of jackets on and Arya, while also wearing a lot of jackets not to get sick, looked perfectly fine with staying at the top of the wall in freaking Alaska.

                She was getting to the elevator when she heard helicopter sounds outside; the other workers started running towards the entrance to take a look at it, and Arya did the same, though she preferred to walk as opposed to running. Once she got to the entrance, she saw it was, indeed, a helicopter; a black one, with the symbols of the Jaeger Program and the Army painted on its side. It landed right in front of the door, and Arya furrowed her eyebrows and widened her eyes when she saw no one other than Jeor Mormont himself hop out of the helicopter, wearing his best suit. Another guy, this one in a military uniform, hopped out after him and gave him some paper sheets. Mormont then nodded at him and proceeded to calmly walk towards the entrance, looking directly at Arya. She knew what he was there for, of course. It may have been arrogance on her part, but she couldn’t imagine any reason for him to go to the Wall other than getting to her.

                She stepped forward, looking at him, not minding the snow falling on her, and waited for him to reach her before saying:

                -You’re a long way from home, Marshal – It was disrespectful, and she knew it. But she didn’t need to obey him anymore, so fuck it.

                -Well, what can I do? – He replied, still calm. – I’d rather be further south, of course, but you weren’t there. You are a person who’s very hard to reach, miss Stark – he looked up at the Wall. – What are you doing here anyway? I don’t think freezing is anyone’s first option.

                -It isn’t – She said. – But I need to get money somehow, and unless I become a criminal, I don’t have many options.

                -We both know that’s not true – He said, seeing right through her. – I’m sure there are a lot of jobs for you not involving this thing – He pointed at the Wall with disdain. – Actually, that’s what I came to talk to you about.

                -What, you need someone to clean the floors down in the Shatterdome? – She replied, mockingly.

                -Oh, if it were indeed that, I wouldn’t have need of you specifically, would I? – He said, smiling gently. She nodded. The workers were dispersing, going back to their jobs.

                -Then why don’t we go inside? – She said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. – I doubt you wanna stay out here in this weather wearing only a suit.

                -I was thinking you would never say that – He said, smiling more widely now. – It’s good to see you haven’t forgotten politeness, miss Stark, as brash as you may be.

                She decided to just glance daggers at him and went inside, him behind her, until she got to the bench she was sitting at earlier and sat down. He remained up.

                -So – She said. – What you wanna talk about?

                He took a deep breath before replying:

                -We’ve been losing a _lot_ of Jaegers, miss Stark. The situation is grave. We don’t have many Jaegers left.

                -So?

                -We need more, but the government decided to stop building them, as you probably know – She nodded at that. – But we still have one Jaeger that’s not being used. An old Mark-3. But it needs someone to pilot it.

                Oh, So that’s what he was getting at. She looked up at him for a few seconds before saying:

                -When I last saw the Shatterdome, there were a lot of Jaegers left.

                -A lot of things can happen in five years, miss Stark – He said, before handing her the paper sheets the uniformed guy gave him earlier. Arya looked down at them.

                _“Name: Dire Wolf_

_Country: England_

_Pilots: Eddard and Robb Stark (both deceased)_

_Class: Mark-1_

_Status: Destroyed_

_Name: Blood Rose_

_Country: Italy_

_Pilots: Margaery and Loras Tyrell (both deceased)_

_Class: Mark-2_

_Status: Destroyed_

_Name: Red Viper_

_Country: Spain_

_Pilots: Oberyn Martell (deceased) and Ellaria Sand (unable from piloting)_

_Class: Mark-4_

                _Status: Destroyed_

_Name: Great Stallion_

_Country: Hungary_

_Pilots: Khal Drogo, Rakharo Dothark and Daario Naharis (all deceased)_

_Class: Mark-3_

_Status: Destroyed_

_Name: Mountain Hound_

_Country: France_

_Pilots: Sandor and Gregor Clegane (both deceased)_

_Class: Mark-2_

_Status: Destroyed_

_Name: Lion Prince_

_Country: Germany_

_Pilots: Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella Baratheon (all deceased)_

_Class: Mark-5_

_Status: Destroyed”_

                Arya looked up from the paper.

                -It’s that bad? – She asked, looking at Mormont. She knew about Dire Wolf, of course, but not about all the others. She wasn’t particularly sorry about Joffrey, since he was a piece of shit, but his siblings were good people. And while both Gregor and Sandor creeped her out, Sandor was nice enough to her.

                -It is much worse – He replied, gravely. – You’ll see it when you get to the Shatterdome.

                She smirked disdainfully.

                -I doubt I was your first option – she said.

                -You were – He nodded. – We don’t have many pilots left, as you have just seen. Especially not Mark-3 pilots.

                -Okay, but you’re forgetting something, sir – She said. – I don’t have a co-pilot. My brother’s dead, remember?

                -We’ve already thought about that. We’ll be testing a handful of candidates to find you a co-pilot.

                She looked at him for a couple of seconds and got up.

                -I was still connected when my brother died – She said. – I felt his life go out in my head. His pain, his desperation. I can’t let anyone else in like that again.

                She started to walk away from the Marshal before he said, behind her:

                -Haven’t you heard, miss Stark? The world’s about to end. So where would you rather die? Here, - He was yelling now. – or in a Jaeger?

                Arya turned around to look at him. He was serious. She sighed. Jon wouldn’t have wanted her to turn back – if he was in her place, he would have accepted the Marshal’s proposition. And her family still hadn’t been avenged.

                -Fine – She said, walking towards the exit and the helicopter, Mormont following her. – But in case you don’t read newspaper, sir, I’m “psychologically unstable”, so I’m warning you about that beforehand.

                Arya couldn’t see it, but behind her, the Marshal smirked. It was good to have her snarky remarks back, actually.

 

******

                -So, the Hong Kong Shatterdome? – Arya said, hopping out of the helicopter into the heavy rain and being handled a black umbrella by a uniformed guy. – You picking up more Kaiju readings here? Or do you just want to take out the monsters that come back of the Breach more quickly?

                -I’ll explain it to you once we’re inside – Mormont replied, under his own umbrella. – For now, let me just introduce you to the person who handpicked your candidates.

                He signaled with his hand to a girl standing a few meters away from the helicopter, also under an umbrella – Arya couldn’t see her well because of the rain – and she approached them, her head slightly down, as if she were timid, and Arya could see her better. And she widened her eyes when could clearly see the girl; because she knew that red hair and blue eyes, and that timid behavior. She couldn’t help but spitting out once the tall girl was close enough to her:

                - _Sansa?!_

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so here's chapter 2! Here's a little something I'd like to note about Drogo:
> 
> I like the Daenerys/Drogo pairing and hate breaking up canon pairings, but it just wouldn't fit here, and here's why: 1- I wanted to make Drogo a pilot, and Daenerys too. But if they were in a relationship, then why would Dany be piloting with Viserys, (who she obviously likes a lot less than Drogo) instead of with Drogo? I wanted to put Dany in Striker Eureka (I admit, I'm a Daenerys groupie. Sorry XD), and I don't consider her an ass and wouldn't want to make her one, so I didn't want to put her in Chuck's role. So she got Herc's. As for Drogo, I also didn't want to make him an ass, not to mention Chuck gets a beating from Raleigh at one point in the movie, and there's absolutely no way Arya would be able to beat Drogo up, as much as I love her and think she's a badass. So there, I wanted an ass to be Chuck, and Viserys immediately came to mind, so I kept him. I could have used Joffrey, but it wouldn't fit with the story because of what I got planned for Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion - you'll see it later into the story. I also seriously doubt Joffrey would be able to do what Chuck does at the end of the movie, and, though I don't think Viserys would either, I think it's more probable than Joffrey since Viserys was more arrogant and jaded than anything else (while Joffrey was outright evil and a coward) - don't get me wrong, I still hate Viserys and think he was an ass, just less of an ass than Joffrey.
> 
> Well then, that's about it for this A/N, then! Next up, we'll see who'll be Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha :)


	3. Welcome Back To The Shatterdome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize for any mistakes, since I'm my own beta :P

Arya absolutely couldn't believe that. Sansa looked up a bit and timidly said:

-Hi.

Arya looked, dumbfounded, at Marshal Mormont, who had a stupid smirk on his face, and said:

-What the fuck? I thought you said you were going to  _introduce_ me to the person who handpicked my candidates! What the hell is  _she_  doing here?!

Arya was angry. Oh, she was so angry. She knew it wasn't Sansa's fault that the rest of their family had died, but  _why_ didonly  _her_ come out of that attack alive? Why did it have to be  _her?_ Why did Jon have to die, and  _she_ get to stay alive? It wasn't fair. She and Sansa never did get along that well, and to see her  _here_  after losing Jon was just too much.

-Watch your manners, miss Stark – Mormont replied as Sansa looked down again; she didn't look like she was enjoying that very much either, and looked a bit angry herself, her cheeks red. – Your sister has proven herself very intelligent and quite an asset in the war against the Kaiju. She insisted to help in any way she could, and, since she's your sister, she would be the one who knows you best. So I chose her to select your candidates.

 _Like hell she knows me best, even Gendry knows me better than her,_ Arya wanted to reply, but held her tongue. In all those years they stood apart, not once did Sansa try to contact her; well, once, actually, after Jon's death. She called Arya several times, but the latter didn't pick up. She then tried to send her an email, which Arya did not read. She  _knew_  what she was doing to Sansa wasn't fair and wasn't nice, but she couldn't help it. She was just so  _angry_  at her, and she didn't even know why she was  _still_  angry at her, but she was.

-Whatever, let's just go – Arya shook her head and started to walk towards the entrance of the Shatterdome, without once looking either at Sansa or Mormont. She could hear both of them following her, but didn't look back.

She entered the open elevator and leaned herself against the wall inside. Mormont and Sansa came in after her; Mormont stood next to her, and Sansa, looking rather apprehensive, stood next to Mormont, preferring to stay away from her sister – at least for now. The elevator door was closing when they heard a voice coming from outside:

-Wait, wait wait! Hold it open! Hold it!

The voice came from a short, chubby guy with a goatee and curly hair who was hastily running towards the elevator, carrying a handful of bags under his arms. The chubby dude was being followed by another guy, who was also running and carrying bags – this one looked taller than the chubby one, and his hair was shorter and apparently smooth. Neither of them had an umbrella and both were dripping wet. There were two soldiers behind them pushing a tank on a wheeled metal platform towards the elevator – the tank was filled with a green liquid and had some organic thing that looked like a giant brain inside it.

Arya, too grumpy to give a damn, stood where she was. Sansa didn't move either, still blushing and looking away from Arya, apparently too scared to move (in a wicked way, Arya was satisfied that she caused her sister that much apprehension); it was Mormont who moved forward and put his arm between the elevator doors to stop it from closing. The chubby guy and his friend(?) ran into the elevator, panting, and Mormont waited for the soldiers bringing the tank to come inside before letting the doors close. The chubby one put down his bags and stretched, then turned at Mormont and said, smiling warmly:

-Thanks, Marshal! Damn, that rain's  _cold!_

Marshal Mormont smiled and turned to Arya:

-Miss Stark, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Samwell Tarly – The chubby guy nodded at her, smiling. – and Dr. Podrick Payne – The other guy did the same. – They're the lead scientists in the Kaiju research team and will be providing us with as much information as they can.

Arya nodded at them and looked at the thing inside the tank with curiosity.

-Look all you like, just don't touch, please – Dr. Tarly said, rolling his sleeves up to reveal tattooed arms. – Also, call me Sam. Nobody calls me "doctor" besides my mom. Hey Pod, – he turned to face Dr. Payne, smiling. – these are living, breathing human beings here, why don't you greet them properly?

Dr. Payne blushed and glanced daggers at him.

- _Don't_  call me that – He said, angrily. Then he turned to Arya with a softer expression on his face. – But it is nice to meet you, miss Stark.

-Oh,  _you're_ Arya Stark? – Sam said, excited, an even brighter smile on his face. – Oh, I'm a big fan, miss Stark, and your brother too – he took her hand and shook it, and she forced a smile, really wanting to get out of that elevator. – Really, the things you've done, practically no one else can do that. I mean, piloting a Jaeger alone-

-Yes, Samwell, she knows what she did – Podrick quickly cut him off, Arya shooting him a thankful look. – I'm pretty sure you don't need to cite all her accomplishments to her.

-Yeah, okay, but, just saying, you're  _awesome_  – Sam said, letting go of her hand (having only now stopped shaking it.)

Sansa was eyeing Sam's arm and, for the first time spoke up, in a quiet voice, pointing at one particular tattoo on his arm:

-Is that White Walker?

Sam looked at the tattoo Sansa was pointing at and Arya did the same; it was true, that was a Kaiju alright. Actually, taking a better look, apparently ninety percent of his tattoos were Kaijus. Sam smiled at her and touched that particular tattoo with his index finger.

-Who, this little Kaiju? – He said, looking up at Sansa. – Yeah, you have a good eye! It actually took a while for it to be taken down; it managed to destroy a great part of the city before they killed it!

Sansa looked absolutely choked up.

-Yeah – She replied, in an even quieter voice. – I know – And then she turned her gaze to the floor.

Both Marshal Mormont and Podrick shot Sam death glares, and his face fell and he stopped talking. Arya looked to the floor. The elevator stood silent for several seconds after that. The silence was actually making Arya crazy – she hated silence, even more so awkward silence – so she pointed at the tank and asked:

-What is that?

Everyone but Sansa looked at where she was pointing and Sam smiled again, though it was not nearly as bright as his previous smiles, and had a shadow of sadness on it.

-Oh, that's a Kaiju brain – He replied. – Well, part of it, actually. I'm hoping to do some important research on it – At that, Podrick rolled his eyes at Sam for some reason. – Trust me, it's gonna change the way we see Kaijus forever…

-Yes, yes, Samwell, I'm pretty sure miss Stark doesn't want to be bored by your wild theories – Podrick cut him off once again, and this time it was Sam who rolled his eyes.

-But Kaijus are amazing, aren't they? – Sam said, dreamily, and Arya glared at him (though he didn't notice) – I really wish to see one alive and up close one day.

-No, you don't – Sansa said again, without facing him, in the same quiet voice. – Trust me.

His face fell again and this time the elevator stood in that same awkward silence until it had reached Arya, Sansa and Mormont's destination.

-Well, me must part for now – Podrick said, smiling gently, as Arya, Sansa and the Marshal exited the elevator. – The lab is further down. But we'll surely see each other again. Good luck to you all.

Sam raised his hand in a 'goodbye' motion – which didn't get a response – as the elevator doors closed. Arya turned around to see herself in the gigantic Shatterdome, and she, like the first time she ever entered the Shatterdome, looked around in awe, impressed by the sheer vastness of it, even though she had been in there countless times. She supposed it was because she had spent five years away from it and had kind of forgotten how it looked like.

Though it did look different from what she remembered; the walls and ceiling were the same, the uniformed people running around inside it were the same, but there was one major difference: most of the Jaeger docking stations were empty. In fact, she could barely see the side of one golden and green Jaeger far off in the distance, but that was it.

-Welcome back to the Shatterdome, miss Stark – Mormont said, also looking around. – If you don't mind following me, I'll show you who you'll be working with during the operation; our remaining Jaegers.

He started walking forward and Arya and Sansa followed, though Sansa was still staying very far away from her sister and looking down; Arya didn't give a damn. For all she cared, Sansa could go blow herself up.

They were now beside the Jaeger Arya had seen earlier, and she could now see it clearly: it was mostly golden, with green details, and the visor on its helmet-like head was thin. The head looked like it had a crown on top. But the most distinguishing feature about it was its third arm, right beside his right one. Right in front of the mech, there were three men playing basketball on a small court, and all three moved in perfect synchronization – one of them was tall and well built, looking like a Viking, and had long black hair and beard; he was mostly defending the basket. The second one, who had the ball and was moving incredibly fast, had short black hair and a goatee, and was fairly thin. The last one, who was trying to take the ball from the second, had black balding hair and no beard, and while not as big or muscular as the first one, was also well-built. Arya noticed that they weirdly looked like the young, middle-aged and older version of the same man.

Marshal Mormont pointed at the golden Jaeger, with a hint of pride on his face, and said:

-The Golden Stag, France. It's piloted by the Baratheon siblings, Robert, Renly and Stannis. They use the Thundercloud formation.

Arya raised her eyebrows.

-Baratheon? – She asked, surprised. – So, they are Joffrey's relatives or something?

-Renly and Stannis are Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella's uncles – The Marshal nodded. – Robert is their father.

-Whoa – Arya replied, sincerely surprised by the information. – I didn't know Joffrey's dad was a Ranger.

-Most people don't – Mormont said. – Joffrey, surprisingly enough, didn't brag about it. As for Tommen and Myrcella, I suppose they were too shy to initiate this sort of conversation.

Arya, instead of replying, just watched the three siblings play basketball, each of them acting like they were reading the others' minds and knew exactly what they were about to do – which, in a way, because of their connection in the Drift, was exactly what was happening. Arya looked away from them and got back to following the Marshal, who was now pointing at a really,  _really_  big black Jaeger with yellow details that was being brought their way by a wheeled platform. Two people in drivesuits, a guy and a girl, walked in front of it; both had dark brown hair, and the guy had a faint stubble on his face. His eyes were blue, while the girl's eyes were dark brown. The guy looked fairly muscular, but the girl looked more well-built than him; she was slightly shorter than the guy, though.

Marshal Mormont spoke up, still pointing at the black and yellow Jaeger:

-Drowned God, Iceland. Piloted by the Greyjoy siblings, Asha and Theon. With them, the Icelandic coast was flawlessly defended for six years.

Arya took another look at the Greyjoys; they looked fairly smug and grumpy – she decided it was best to stay away from them, at least for now; they didn't look like people who liked idle talk.

The Marshal turned right, and Arya and Sansa followed suit. A few steps further a black and red Jaeger, which looked shorter than the others, came into their line of view. Two bleached-blond figures were standing beside it, talking to a group of scientists (or at least Arya assumed it were scientists, judging by their white lab coats.) The one that was closest to Mormont, Arya and Sansa turned around when the Marshal spoke up:

-You already know Black Dracarys. You remember Daenerys and Viserys, right?

Dany had approached them and was offering her hand for Arya to shake, smiling gently.

-Stark – She said in her accented voice as Arya shook her hand. – Long time no see. It's good to see you again – Her face then became sad and she stopped smiling. – I'm sorry about your brother. He was a good man.

-Thanks – Arya managed to choke out. Funny enough, she didn't even know Daenerys that well, and she was the first person to express sympathy towards her brother's death since Arya had entered the Shatterdome.

-Black Dracarys will be in charge of the operation – The Marshal said. – You, Golden Stag and Drowned God will be covering it. Now, if you'll follow your sister, she'll show you to your Jaeger.

He started to move, but Arya spoke up:

-Wait, sir, what operation? You still haven't told me what I'm supposed to do here.

He looked down and sighed before looking back at her and replying:

-We're gonna attack the Breach. Blow it up.

Arya blinked at him.

-That's not gonna work – She said, well aware of Daenerys' gaze on her. – We've tried it before, remember?

-We're gonna do it with a nuclear warhead this time – He said. – Blow everything down there up. We've got to try.

-Well… wait, where did you get a nuclear warhead from? – She said, slightly surprised.

Marshal Mormont pointed at the Baratheons, now leaning against the wall with their arms crossed and talking to each other, panting.

-See the Baratheons over there? – He said, and Arya nodded. – They can get us anything. Now, if we're done here, I really need to talk to Tarly and Payne down at the lab. You should go greet Grey Wind, Miss Stark. I believe you'll like the changes our engineers made on it.

He turned around and started to walk away from her, Daenerys following him. Arya kept looking at his back before turning to Sansa and saying:

-Well, what are you waiting for?

Sansa blushed again, but didn't look down this time, and said:

-Follow me.

She started to walk away from Arya, who did what she said and walked after her, well aware of Viserys glaring at her a few meters away.


	4. Drift Compatible

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long hiatus, guys. Writer's block got in the way. But I'm not giving up on this!  
> I'm not too happy with this chapter, to be honest, and think Sansa's a bit OOC near the end, but oh well.  
> Hope you're liking it so far.

-Seriously, you’ve been giving me a chilly stare ever since I took down the first guy – Said Arya to her sister, grumpily, while wiping the sweat from her brow after defeating the third candidate in a row. – What the hell is your problem? Butthurt because I’m beating your candidates one after another?

                Arya could see Mormont shooting her a disapproving glance, and she gulped. She expected Sansa to either lower her head, like she had been doing every time Arya talked to her, or let out an indignant huff of disapproval. But for the first time ever since they had seen each other, her sister, her face redder than before, spat out in response:

                -They’re not the problem, _you_ are.

                The room went pretty much silent at that. Renly Baratheon, who was getting up from the floor, kept darting his eyes from Arya to Sansa, and vice versa. None of the others said a thing; Robert and Stannis eyeing them cautiously, Asha and Theon watching them with curiosity, Viserys paying attention to the scene with pure disdain on his face – unfortunately Arya had not yet had the chance to take him on before her patience with Sansa ran out; she could have taught him a thing or two about _competence_ – and Daenerys leaning on the wall, watching them like a hawk, her expression undecipherable. At her sister’s outburst, Arya widened her eyes and shot up her eyebrows; she could see Mormont furrow his own brows, and a ghost of a smirk appeared on his face. Arya pretended not to see it and instead focused on Sansa.

                -Oh? – She said, mockingly. – Unless the rules have changed, _sis,_ I’m pretty sure I’m winning so far. So what’s wrong about my performance?

                -You’re putting on too much of a show – Sansa replied, angrily. – Where you could have taken them out in one swift move, you’ve been playing with every single one of them. Try to do that with a Kaiju and you’re dead.

                -I suppose you could show me how to fight, then, since you know a lot about Kaiju attacks after experiencing one first hand – Arya spat out, and Sansa’s face went blank at that; surprisingly, the room grew even more silent than before; even Viserys had dropped his smug smirk, though his arrogance was still on his face. He was obviously expecting a fight, and hoping for one. Everyone else in the room seemed to go tense, except for Mormont and Daenerys, who kept their neutral, blank expressions.

                That was a low blow, and Arya knew it. She wasn’t even sure why she was attacking her sister with the White Walker attack, since it had been her own family killed that day, but she had her own ways of dealing with the pain, and words didn’t hurt her anymore – especially when they came out of her own mouth. She knew it would hurt Sansa a lot more than it hurt her; she knew it would make Sansa feel like Arya was blaming her for what happened.

                Well, it worked; it _had_ hurt Sansa. But instead of seeing the glimmer of tears in her sister’s eyes, Arya saw only white, cold fury directed entirely at her. That was the second time Sansa was surprising Arya with fierceness in place of the weakness the younger Stark had previously seen.

                Sansa looked at Mormont pleadingly, and after what felt like long seconds, the Marshal slowly, hesitantly, nodded. Sansa then angrily turned towards Arya and walked into the mat. She picked up the rod Renly had dropped and took a fighting stance.

                Arya wanted to laugh – her sister wasn’t a fighter, she knew that better than anyone. She had always been a little lady, with her fairytale books and dolls and tea sets, spending time fawning over boys when Arya was training hard with Jon to get into the Jaeger Program. She didn’t actually laugh, but let a mocking grin appear on her face. Daenerys noticed it immediately and spoke up:

                -I wouldn’t underestimate your sister if I were you, Stark. Have you seen her simulator records? 51 drops, 51 kills.

                That wiped the grin right off of Arya’s face. Daenerys had to be joking; how could someone like _Sansa_ have a record like that? She looked at Sansa, her rigid, fierce posture, and started to notice she meant business; she wouldn’t have walked into that mat if she didn’t know how to fight. She saw Arya taking down that brute Robert in a heartbeat. Her sister was many things – futile, naïve, weak – but she wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what she was getting into. And, weirder yet… if she had a record like that, why wasn’t she one of the candidates (as much as the idea sickened Arya)?

                It was Sansa’s turn to grin; she noticed the vague apprehension plastered on Arya’s face. But she said nothing, and didn’t move until Mormont gave the word to begin.

                She was so fast Arya barely blocked the swift strike directed at the side of her head. She was still getting her bearings when Sansa attacked again, this time hitting her shins and sweeping her off her feet, making her collapse on the ground with a loud thud, and Sansa pointed the edge of her rod at her face. Arya looked at her incredulously, as did Robert, Renly and Theon. Asha, Stannis, Viserys and Daenerys were just watching the scene attentively. Mormont had a weird, undecipherable expression on his face that edged towards sadness – Arya had no idea why.

                -1 point for me, _sis._ – Sansa said, arrogantly, and Dany and Asha smiled at that. Arya felt the blood rush to her face, both from embarrassment and anger, and used her own rod to strike Sansa’s feet and swipe her off them. As she fell on the ground, Arya got up quickly and swiftly and pointed her own rod at her.

                -I think we just got even – She spat out, angrily and slowly stepped away from Sansa for her sister to get up; she did so graciously and quickly, and retook her fighting stance. She didn’t try to strike this time – she knew Arya was ready for it. Instead, she waited for Arya to make a move first.

                But Arya wasn’t dumb either, and knew simply lashing out at Sansa would mean she would have her ass handed to her on a plate, so she pretended to go for her sister’s feet, and, when Sansa moved her rod to block the attack, Arya stopped hers midway and went for her shoulder instead; it knocked Sansa off balance and made her open her guard, and, in that minute of confusion, Arya used her rod to swipe her sister off her feet again.

                -2 for me – Arya said smugly, standing over her sister’s frame with her rod on her neck.  She could see the anger in the redhead’s eyes, and when she started to get up, Sansa grabbed her by the shoulder and flipped them over, once again pointing her rod at Arya.

                -And I think we’re even again. – Sansa got up too fast for Arya to try a similar trick, and they were both on their feet in seconds.

                They both continued that dance, moving as if one was reading the other’s mind and throwing occasional arrogant remarks at each other, everyone else in the room dead quiet, until Sansa knocked Arya down for a fourth time – meaning she had won that little spar. But the entire time, they had kept weirdly in sync with each other.

                Everyone else now looked genuinely impressed and amazed, even Dany – Arya Stark, the petite girl who had taken down burly Robert Baratheon and piloted a Jaeger solo, had just been beaten by a girl who wasn’t even a Ranger – everyone, except for Mormont, who had the same weird blank expression on his face.

                Asha Greyjoy was the first to speak up:

                -Sir, I think you know what this means.

                She was speaking to Mormont, of course. He merely shook his head with determination.

                -Sir, I must agree with Greyjoy – Daenerys spoke too. – She’s a better candidate for her than any of us.

                -Plus she’s not already in an established team – Asha added.

                -No. – Mormont merely shook his head.

                -What do you mean? – Arya stepped into the conversation. – What are you talking about, “she’s a better candidate”?

                Daenerys looked at her with genuine surprise.

                -You seriously haven’t noticed, Stark? – She said, a hint of irony on her voice. – You and your sister are Drift Compatible.

                Drift Compatible.

                Arya’s heart jumped at that, in a bad way. Of all the people in the world…!

                -No, no, no, no – She quickly protested, shaking her head. – You _cannot_ be serious. She can’t pilot with me!

                -Why not? – Asha said. – She’s better for you than any of us. You have a better option?

                -Seriously, anyone, even Gendry, but her…!

                -Yeah, I can really see Gendry piloting a Jaeger – Renly jumped in, sarcastically, and laughed. – Guy’s a Jaeger engineer, not a Ranger. No offense – He added, looking at Sansa; he knew Sansa knew a lot about Jaeger tech and was one of the main minds behind the revamp of Grey Wind.

When Arya had seen him again, her Jaeger, three days ago, she didn’t know what to think. She felt tears stinging her eyes because the robot reminded her of Jon, but also felt excited to pilot it again. Gendry had happily walked to her side and listed the main changes they made to Wind’s system – another reactor, heavier protection against radiation, sturdier and more resistant exterior, newer conn-pod technology; but the reason Arya felt really happy that day was because she saw her old friend again, after so much time apart from each other. They hugged amicably, exchanged a few jokes, laughed and talked for a long time before Arya went to her room to get some sleep. Sansa followed her; for her happiness, her sister’s room was right in front of hers. They didn’t exchange a single word along the way. Arya found herself cursing her luck before she drifted off to sleep.

Arya definitely didn’t want to pilot with Sansa, and she thought her sister felt the same; but for her third surprise that day, Sansa turned towards Mormont expectantly and pleadingly, and said:

-Sir, please.

Mormont merely looked at her.

-I said no, Miss Stark, and my word is final on this subject. – Sansa seemed to deflate at that, but Arya felt relieved; the less she had to see her sister, the better. Mormont then shifted his gaze from Sansa to her. – Stark, I want you here tomorrow after lunch. We’ll decide who your copilot will be.

Arya nodded and turned her back to Sansa, walking out of the room without saying a word to her.

 

*****

 

                She wasn’t sure how she found herself sitting alone on the floor of the empty, dark Shatterdome, staring at Grey Wind, but there she was. She couldn’t say she was excited to walk into it again; too many bad memories were associated with it for her to feel that way. And she definitely didn’t want to share her mind with anyone else, especially after what happened to Jon – she cringed at the thought of piloting with Viserys, even though she knew it was virtually impossible; he had not been tested, and even if he had, he would _never_ want to pilot with her. Arya didn’t care; she felt the same way towards the stuck-up blonde jerk. And she was fairly angry at Dany and Asha too, for suggesting Sansa should be her co-pilot. They didn’t know her. They didn’t know why she was so bitter towards her sister. It wasn’t just because of White Walker; she and Sansa had never really gotten along well, even as kids. Grey Wind was a treasure she didn’t want to share with anyone besides Jon, much less her stupid sister.

                She sighed, not once taking her eyes off the Jaeger. In one way, it was satisfying to be back in the Shatterdome, but in another, it was tiring. She had not trained in a long way after Jon’s death, and her muscles were sore from afternoon’s training session. The spots where Sansa had hit her with the rod felt uncomfortable and slightly painful. Her sigh was the only thing that could be heard in the enormous Shatterdome besides the gentle hum of some machines Arya didn’t know what were for, or where and what they were, for that matter; she couldn’t see them, only hear them. She guessed it was some sort of generator.

                It was silent enough for her to hear hesitant footsteps approach her. She thought it was either Gendry or Mormont, or maybe even Daenerys; she did not expect Sansa to be the one to sit down beside her. That was the fourth surprise that day. Had they traded Sansa with a completely different person when she wasn’t looking?

                -Hey – Her sister said, timidly. Arya didn’t answer, so she turned her gaze towards the Jaeger as well.

                The two of them stood in complete silence for a few minutes, before Sansa spoke up:

                -It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

                Arya looked at her, fairly wary. It was weird enough for her sister to be addressing her, even more so in a way that wasn’t brusque, mocking or rude. There was surprising warmth in her voice.

                -Grey Wind? – Arya replied, shortly. She still wasn’t in good terms with the redhead.

                -Yeah – Sansa replied, smiling gently. – I’d never seen anything like it.

                -“Beautiful” doesn’t help you win a war – Arya replied, bitterly. Once again Jon came to her mind.

                -I suppose so. But I think being beautiful in addition to being a good fighter doesn’t hurt.

                Arya didn’t reply.

                -Listen – Said Sansa, timidly, in a low tone, after a few silent seconds. – , I don’t blame you for what happened to Jon, and I’m sure mom and dad, Robb, Bran and Rickon wouldn’t either.

                -How should you know? You weren’t there. And even if you were, our family is dead so we don’t know what they’d think.

                Sansa gulped audibly.

                -Yes, I wasn’t there – She said, cautiously. – But I know you enough to know you wouldn’t let Jon die. I’m sure you did everything you could to save him.

                -You know me? – Arya spat out caustically. – You didn’t even bother to call or send a letter, even an email, before Jon died. How can you say you know me? You never cared to.

                Sansa stood in silence for a few seconds once again.

                -Yes, that’s true – She said. Arya could hear the tears in her voice. – I never cared to know you until it was too late, and I’m sorry. Now you hate me. And I don’t blame you for that either.

                Arya eyed her incredulously.

                -But you’re my sister, and you’re the only family I have – Sansa continued. – And I don’t want things to stay like this between us, because despite everything, I care about you, Arya, I really do. And if you want to hate me… fine. Then there’s nothing I can do. But you have to stop punishing yourself for Jon’s death. It wasn’t your fault.

                _Yes it was_ , Arya wanted to say, _it was me who was in the conn-pod with him that day. One pilot is supposed to have the other’s back. I didn’t have his back, now he’s dead._ She instead settled on saying:

                -I’m sure Ygritte will disagree with you.

                Ygritte was Jon’s girlfriend, down from tech. She was a brash, loud-mouthed redhead who didn’t really care about anything but screwing around and partying. She kept the Shatterdome alive even in the middle of a giant monster apocalypse. Arya hadn’t seen her ever since before Jon’s death, and didn’t know if the girl was still mad at her for letting her boyfriend die – or if she had ever been mad at her, for that matter.

                -I’m sure she won’t – Sansa was now speaking a bit angrily. – And I’m sure Jon wouldn’t want you to keep blaming yourself for what happened either!

                -Well, I don’t know what he’d want, because thanks to me, he’s dead.

                -Stop that! – Sansa shouted, and Arya looked at her, surprised. There were tears freely flowing down her face, Arya could see with the little light there was in the Shatterdome. After a couple of seconds, Sansa spoke again, her voice trembling. – After… after White Walker… I came to the Shatterdome. I offered to help with whatever I could. I spent years learning about Jaeger tech so that I could be useful. I also learned to fight. But the survivor-s guilt never went away. Why them and not me? And then one day, Marshal Mormont said it didn’t matter, because I was alive and they were not, and crying over it and blaming myself wouldn’t bring them back. The best I could do was help the Jaeger Program, and avenge them myself, in one way or another. I thought, if the Marshal didn’t let me fight, at least I could help by enhancing the Jaegers.

                -I never saw you in the Shatterdome – Arya said, furrowing her eyebrows. The White Walker attack happened before Jon’s death.

                -You never looked – Sansa said, simply.

                -Why then have you called me and sent emails after Jon… - She couldn’t say it out loud so casually. – You could have just walked to me.

                Sansa lowered her head.

                -I was afraid – She said, simply. – Afraid of your reaction, of your backlash. Because I knew you’d be right. I’m sorry. I’m a horrible sister, I know.

                -Yeah, you are – Arya replied, though she wasn’t entirely serious. She wasn’t sure she could stay mad at her sister after what she had just heard. And Sansa had made her feel a bit better about Jon, like it or not.

                -Sorry – Sansa said again.

                After what seems like long minutes, Arya spoke up:

                -I don’t blame you for their deaths.

                -We both know that’s not true – Sansa replied with a sarcastic smile and wiped away the tears.

                Arya didn’t know what to reply, because her sister was right and she knew it. So she changed the subject:

                -Why won’t Mormont let you pilot? You’re better than any of them.

                Sansa blushed, but nervously replied with:

                -He has his reasons, Arya. Trust me.

                -Why are you so afraid of him? – She pressed on; she knew Sansa was growing uncomfortable, but she couldn’t help it; she had seen it on the way Sansa cautiously looked at Mormont, always obeying him, always asking his permission for everything, always backing down immediately when he said “no”, as if he were her own father.

                Sansa simply shot her a sad look.

                -It’s not fear, Arya – She said, enigmatically. – It’s respect.

                With that, she got up and left, leaving Arya alone with Grey Wind in the dark.


	5. New Co-Pilot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Okay, so I’m back! Really sorry about the long wait, guys, but with writer’s block and vacation, I kind of stayed away from this fic for some time. I do plan to update it more regularly now, and while this chapter is, admittedly, shorter than the others, I’m already writing the next one and it should come out soon after this one. It just felt right to end it there instead of writing the whole scene inside the Jaeger now. I preferred to continue it on the next chapter, since that scene will probably be particularly long anyway.  
> Also, this chapter has some implications of a femslash pairing. If that’s not your cup of tea, feel free to leave. It’s just some implications though, nothing too shippy; Like I said, this story isn’t about ships, it’s about Arya and Sansa’s relationship as sisters, plus GIANT ROBOTS AND MONSTERS, HELL YEAH. But I thought I should warn you again that this story does have hints of F/M, F/F and M/M pairings, in case it got over your head in the first chapter. So, be warned, and if you don’t like it, you can always leave. I’m not gonna use any relationship tags because I don’t feel it’s necessary; like I said, it’s only implications.  
> That having been said, I hope I’m not messing up the characterization here. Feel free to warn me if I am, okie-dokie?

While lunch wasn’t the worst thought in the world, especially considering Arya was pretty hungry, she couldn’t say she was looking forward to it, either. She used to have fun during lunch, but that was back when she had Jon by her side. Now, she was pretty much surrounded by almost complete strangers and her estranged sister, with whom she had kind of come to terms last night, but was still awkward around; besides, Arya still held a faint grudge against Sansa, even though it wasn’t as strong as it was before – Sansa herself knew Arya still blamed her for her family’s death.

Also, the food in the Shatterdome wasn’t really the best in the world.

So, to begin with, Arya had no idea at which table to sit, and didn’t really feel comfortable with the thought of sitting with any of these people, since some of them would eye her with angst, probably blaming her for the Jaeger Program’s deactivation, others would eye her with admiration, which made her feel like an expensive museum painting or a particularly pretty and interesting zoo animal, and the rest would look at her with – arguably the worst of them all – pity and caution, as if she were fragile and could break at anytime, or go bonks out of nowhere and strangle them for absolutely no reason at all. One particular girl kept looking at her as she walked and looked like she was on the verge of tears, God only knew why.

Nope, Arya definitely did not like being around these people at all.

-Hey, Stark! Come sit with us!

Arya turned towards the voice that called her name and saw Daenerys waving at her and smiling friendly, while Viserys, sitting across her and holding the leashes of three dogs (a Rottweiler, a Dobermann and a Pitbull) who sat on the ground next to the bench, glanced daggers at Arya, as if daring her to come closer. Surprisingly, at Dany’s side was Sansa, eyeing the table awkwardly.

Arya shot a defiant glance at Viserys and approached them, sitting next to Dany, still not particularly comfortable with being close to Sansa.

-Thanks, Dany – Arya said, now ignoring Viserys completely, on purpose; and he looked like he was about to explode. Arya found that extremely satisfying.

-Don’t mention it – Dany replied, paying no attention to her brother’s animosity towards Arya. – Viserys, what did I say about giving my dogs junk food? – She now stared at Viserys, who was giving the Rottweiler a fry. He merely shrugged. Dany sighed and shook her head in disapproval, then switched her attention back to Arya. – You know, it’s good to have you back. You’ll definitely even the odds for us during the operation.

-Even the odds? – Arya repeated, a bit confused. – But you guys have four Jaegers already in that operation. I mean, you are pretty good yourself, and the other Jaeger pilots look pretty capable too – Arya made sure to specifically refer to Daenerys and the other pilots and leave Viserys out of her praise. – I mean, yeah, that Stannis guy looks like a killjoy, but he’s a good fighter.

-Don’t forget, we had three Jaegers before you came back to us – Dany pointed out. – We only have four because you agreed to help – Arya scratched the back of her neck, uncomfortably. – And yeah, Stannis is a bit grumpy – Dany laughed. – But he’s a nice guy. They all are. I talk to them a lot, you know, the Baratheons and the Greyjoys, after all, we work together. I thought you should know, none of them blames you for the deactivation of the Program. We’re all glad you’re here.

-Speak for yourself – Viserys grumbled, staring at Arya like she had horribly insulted his family, this time giving the Dobermann a fry.

Dany gave him a stare that looked like she could make him spontaneously combust at any second.

-What? – He said, now giving the Pitbull a piece of his burger. – It’s true. They might be glad she’s back, you might be glad she’s back, but I’m not. She’s why we only have four Jaegers left. They stopped building Jaegers because of mediocre pilots. What’s more mediocre than not being able to save your co-pilot?

-Enough, Viserys – Daenerys now looked like she wanted to punch him. Used to that kind of charming comment, especially from him, Arya just eyed with contempt, as if she didn’t give a crap about what he was saying; that wasn’t exactly untrue. It wasn’t like Viserys had ever been nice to her anyway, or to anyone, for that matter; Dany looked like she couldn’t stand him.

-You know what, I’m not hungry – Viserys got up and put the dogs’ leashes in Dany’s hand (rather aggressively) and walked away. Dany just sighed and pressed between her eyes with her free hand, while Sansa, who had been quiet ever since Daenerys called Arya to the table, scratched the Pitbull’s head, avoiding looking at both Dany and Arya.

-Don’t mind Viserys, Stark – She said, staring at his back with repressed anger. – He’s just being an idiot, like always. Sorry about his narrow-mindedness.

-You don’t have to apologize, really, Dany – Arya replied. – It’s okay.

-Of course it’s not okay, that dimwit is my brother, and he’s being an asshole to you – Dany said. – If he can’t step down from his mighty pedestal of greatness to apologize for his behavior, then I must do it in his place. And I’m not doing this only because I’m embarrassed of him, I’m doing it because he’s being unfair to you. You’re the best there is, and he’s treating you like you’re some sort of inexperienced clumsy rookie, the idiot… Drogon, _no_ – Dany reprimanded the Dobermann, who was trying to jump on the table to reach Viserys’ abandoned plate. – Not everyone can do what you’ve done, Stark. I won’t sit by while he’s being disrespectful to you.

-Well, thanks, I guess – Arya said, uncomfortable again; she didn’t really like being praised for surviving a Kaiju attack while her brother didn’t, no matter how good Dany’s intentions were.

It wasn’t like Viserys’ behavior didn’t bother her; it did. But then again, pretty much everyone’s behavior towards her bothered her nowadays – only a few people still treated her like a normal human being and not like an untouchable idol, a moron, a porcelain doll or an unstable maniac who’s escaped the asylum. So Viserys’ opinion of her – falling under the category “moron” – wasn’t really new. He was just a lot more insistent than most people.

-He’s the older sibling, and I’m the one who has to keep him in line – Daenerys grumbled, scratching the Rottweiler’s head. – Well, I guess I didn’t do a very good job at that. Such sister I am.

-It’s not your fault, Dany – Sansa spoke up for the first time, surprisingly completely at ease when talking to Dany, looking at her with kindness and something else Arya couldn’t place. – I think he’s just frustrated, you know, because they’re shutting the Program down. You did say this is your home.

That’s right, Arya thought, the Targaryen siblings were orphans. Arya hadn’t really been interested in the backstories of other pilots back in the day, but Jon, who had been a favorite of Mormont’s, mentioned to Arya that the marshal told him the Targaryens had nowhere to go before he took them in and trained them for the Jaeger Program; something about their older brother having been a pilot who died in combat when Dany and Viserys were very young, and the rest of their family being killed in a break-in or something. The marshal saw potential in them, considering their brother, and trained them to become Rangers. And he had guessed right; as much as Arya hated to admit, Viserys _was_ a good pilot.

-I know, Sansa, but that doesn’t justify the way he’s acting – Dany looked at Sansa with an undecipherable look in her eyes, and her voice became softer when talking to her. – Me and him aren’t the only ones who have lost our family, and he should be aware of that. But, apparently, I can’t get that through his thick stupid skull…

-It’s okay, Dany, I already told you, it’s not your fault – Sansa put a hand on Dany’s shoulder, but then immediately blushed and looked down, as if realizing she had said something she shouldn’t have  – I mean, not that I’m saying there is something to apologize for, he’s just…

Daenerys let out a laugh.

-Sansa, you know very well that when you’re around me you don’t have to pretend my brother isn’t an ass. – She said, smiling. – I know firsthand just how insufferable he can be.

-He’s not insufferable, he’s just… difficult – Sansa countered, not looking particularly convinced of that.

- _Difficult_ – Dany laughed again, this time looking more amused than before. – Oh Sans, you really are a gem.

Sansa blushed spectacularly and Arya couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that.

Daenerys then looked at Arya and her tone became more casual and less soft.

-So, Stark, if you don’t mind me asking, what have you been up to these five years? – She asked, pulling the Dobermann’s (Drogon’s?) leash once more when he tried to jump on the table again.

-Well, I’ve been doing some small jobs here and there – Arya replied. – Mostly on the Wall, but, ya know, I don’t know why I bothered helping build that thing, since it obviously doesn’t work.

-Did you miss it here? – She asked, casually.

-Yeah, but I didn’t really want to come back, even though I wanted to pilot again – Arya said, lowering her gaze. – I just… this place reminded me too much of Jon, you know.

Dany kept silent for a while and eyed her with sympathy, but not pity.

-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up – She said, a bit awkwardly, still pulling on Drogon’s leash. – You don’t have to talk about it, forget I said anything.

-Nah, it’s cool – Arya said, wondering how someone as composed as Daenerys Targaryen could ever act in an awkward manner. – It doesn’t hurt as much as it used to. – That was partially true, but she didn’t want to make Dany or Sansa uncomfortable.

It didn’t really work, since the two of them kept quiet for a few seconds before Dany spoke up:

-Well, anyway, you should probably hurry with your lunch, Stark, since you have to be in the staging room in forty minutes to meet your co-pilot.

Arya hadn’t forgotten that, of course, but she did start to eat a bit faster. Dany and Sansa had already finished, but they kept her company, Dany having to occasionally physically hold back her dogs to stop them from jumping on the table. In the end, she gave in and gave a few fries to the dogs, if only for them to stay quiet and stop trying to attack Viserys’ plate (“Okay, now enough of that, you know it’s bad for you to keep eating junk food, you three.”)

After lunch, the three of them got up and headed together towards the staging room; once they had gotten near enough, Dany and Sansa went down a different corridor (that led to the observation room, Arya supposed) and Arya kept going on her own, getting to the staging room and being geared up to enter Grey Wind. During the entire lunch, she and Sansa didn’t exchange a single word. Expectable, considering the awkward late-night conversation they had the previous night.

Arya was equal parts curious and nervous about who her new co-pilot would be. If no one was quite capable of keeping up with her yesterday, then how would that work? Hell, how would dismantling an already established team work? She didn’t really get Mormont’s reasoning behind this, but nonetheless, she went along with it – what else could she do? She had already agreed to that.

She stepped into the conn-pod and positioned herself, waiting for the co-pilot to get inside as well. After a few minutes of waiting, she heard someone walking into the conn-pod and spoke up, without looking at them:

-Hope you don’t mind me getting this side of the Jaeger. My other arm isn’t in pristine condition.

-I don’t mind.

The moment she heard that voice, she turned around to look at its owner. Once again, just like when the marshal had “introduced” her to the person who had handpicked her candidates, Arya found herself surprised; but, differently from last time, she didn’t feel particularly bad about it, instead admitting to herself, a bit begrudgingly, that she was relieved this turned out to be her co-pilot.

-So, he ended up letting you pilot, huh? – Arya said to her sister, who, in full-gear, positioned herself on the other side of the conn-pod. – The marshal is thick-headed, what did you do to convince him?

-I didn’t do it alone – Her sister replied, with a shy smile. – The others also came to talk to him about why letting me pilot was a good idea.

-The others?

-Well, specifically, Renly, Asha and Dany. They told him it was better to let me pilot with you than break up an existing team; because let’s be honest, that wouldn’t have worked. They also said since I’m your sister, you’d probably feel more comfortable with letting me in your mind.

-Well, who knows, they might just be right – Arya grumbled. – I mean, I suppose it _is_ better to have you than a complete stranger inside my head. And… I mean, we’re good, now, yeah? It’s not that I can just forget all the resentment and leave it all behind, but… I think we’re cool enough to work together in this, right?

-Yeah – Sansa replied, her smile getting a bit bigger. – Yeah, we’re cool.

-Good. Cause it would have been awkward if we had to step into each other’s minds while actively hating each other.

Sansa let out an awkward laugh, and Arya smiled a bit.

-You know, it is kind of good to have you back, Sansa. Sort of – She let out, scratching the back of her neck.

-It’s good to have you back too, Arya.

They looked at each other and exchanged a friendly look, and then Arya knew that maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope I didn’t disappoint with this one! I decided to make the next chapters more about Arya’s relationship with other pilots plus Sansa, so I started it with Daenerys; the next ones will probably have her meeting and befriending the others too (minus the next one, which will be her and Sansa’s test drive in Grey Wind). So, if you have the time, please leave a comment, it always helps :)

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Well, there's the first chapter :) Hope you're liking it so far, and please leave me some feedback, either positive or negative (as long as it's constructive criticism; no flaming, please.) I'm not one to ask for feedback but not getting any really discourages you from writing, so if you have a minute, please leave a comment, okie-dokie? :)


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